Patent lawyer aspirations, now help decide my future!

I'm a sophomore at a bay area junior college looking to get into patent law down the road. My current plan is to transfer to a top biology program here in CA and get my bachelors in biology, then apply to law school. Will a b.s in bio and an education from a good law school be enough to make me competitive in the patent lawyer job market or should I be going for at least a masters degree first?

You can take the patent bar without a JD, but you won't be a patent lawyer you'll be a patent agent. Patent lawyers have to get a JD and pass both the patent bar and general bar.

A biology degree would qualify you to become a patent lawyer, but it;s not quite as simple as saying "I have a STEM degree, therefore I can be a patent lawyer." It is a pretty competitive field, and most patent lawyers come into it with some level of experience already under their belts. For example, someone might work as a chemical engineer for five years then get a JD, that sort of thing.

There are very few JDs with STEM degrees who qualify, but there also aren't very many job openings in patent law. I think it sort of balances out in that way. Additionally, all of the normal rules apply: a STEM degree plus a JD from Stanford is going to be more employable than a STEM degree plus a JD from Whittier, etc. A biology degree is OK, but perhaps not quite as desirable as mechanical engineering, biotech engineering, chemical engineering etc. You get the point.

Lastly, don't go to law school unless you are OK with being a lawyer, period. Not a patent lawyer, but just a lawyer. The fact is, you may very well end up writing wills and defending DUIs if nobody is hiring patent lawyers when you graduate.

Heck go online unaccredited and live in CA.......who cares. No one really. Its your life.

Remember, if you get a contingency based client (even if working out of your garage) and that guy is the next bill gates or steve jobs who just needs someone to believe in him and help him out...........$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Or be scared and work at burger king like most junior college graduates